Clearing house, the establishment where the business of clearing is carried on. See above, 3.
Clear"ly, adv. In a clear manner.
Clear"ness, n. The quality or state of being clear.
Syn. -- Clearness, Perspicuity. Clearness has reference to our ideas, and springs from a distinct conception of the subject under consideration. Perspicuity has reference to the mode of expressing our ideas and belongs essentially to style. Hence we speak of a writer as having clear ideas, a clear arrangement, and perspicuous phraseology. We do at times speak of a person's having great clearness of style; but in such cases we are usually thinking of the clearness of his ideas as manifested in language. "Whenever men think clearly, and are thoroughly interested, they express themselves with perspicuity and force." Robertson.
Clear"-see`ing (?), a. Having a clear physical or mental vision; having a clear understanding.
Clear"-shin`ing (?), a. Shining brightly. Shak.
Clear"-sight`ed (-sīt`&ebreve;d), a. Seeing with clearness; discerning; as, clear-sighted reason.
Clear"-sight`ed*ness, n. Acute discernment.
Clear"starch` (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clearstarched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Clearstraching.] To stiffen with starch, and then make clear by clapping with the hands; as, to clearstarch muslin.
Clear"starch`er (?), n. One who clearstarches.
{ Clear"sto`ry (?), Clere"sto`ry, } n. (Arch.) The upper story of the nave of a church, containing windows, and rising above the aisle roofs.
Clear"wing` (?), n. (Zo÷l.) A lepidopterous insect with partially transparent wings, of the family ĂgeriadŠ, of which the currant and peach-tree borers are examples.
Cleat (klēt), n. [OE. clete wedge; cf. D. kloot ball, Ger. kloss, klotz, lump. clod, MHG. klōz lump, ball, wedge, OHG. chlōz ball, round mass.]
1. (Carp.) A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
2. (Naut.) A device made of wood or metal, having two arms, around which turns may be taken with a line or rope so as to hold securely and yet be readily released. It is bolted by the middle to a deck or mast, etc., or it may be lashed to a rope.
Cleat, v. t. To strengthen with a cleat.
Cleav"a*ble (?), a. Capable of cleaving or being divided.
Cleav"age (?), n. 1. The act of cleaving or splitting.
2. (Crystallog.) The quality possessed by many crystallized substances of splitting readily in one or more definite directions, in which the cohesive attraction is a minimum, affording more or less smooth surfaces; the direction of the dividing plane; a fragment obtained by cleaving, as of a diamond. See Parting.
3. (Geol.) Division into laminŠ, like slate, with the lamination not necessarily parallel to the plane of deposition; -- usually produced by pressure.
Basal cleavage, cleavage parallel to the base of a crystal, or to the plane of the lateral axes. -- Cell cleavage (Biol.), multiplication of cells by fission. See Segmentation. -- Cubic cleavage, cleavage parallel to the faces of a cube. -- Diagonal cleavage, cleavage parallel to ta diagonal plane. -- Egg clavage. (Biol.) See Segmentation. -- Lateral cleavage, cleavage parallel to the lateral planes. -- Octahedral, Dodecahedral, or Rhombohedral, cleavage, cleavage parallel to the faces of an octahedron, dodecahedron, or rhombohedron. -- Prismatic cleavage, cleavage parallel to a vertical prism.
Cleave (klēv), v. i. [imp. Cleaved (klēvd), Clave (klāv, Obs.); p. p. Cleaved; p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleovien, clivien, cliven, AS. cleofian, clifian; akin to OS. klibōn, G. kleben, LG. kliven, D. kleven, Dan. klŠbe, Sw. klibba, and also to G. kleiben to cleve, paste, Icel. klīfa to climb. Cf. Climb.] 1. To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast; to cling.
My bones cleave to my skin.
Ps. cii. 5.
The diseases of Egypt . . . shall cleave unto thee.
Deut. xxviii. 60.
Sophistry cleaves close to and protects
Sin's rotten trunk, concealing its defects.
Cowper.
2. To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.
Gen. ii. 24.
Cleave unto the Lord your God.
Josh. xxiii. 8.